Kaisika Ekadashi 2026: Date, Nampaduvan Story, Thirukkurungudi Kaisika Natakam and Kaisika Puranam

Quick answer: Kaisika Ekadashi (Kaisika Ekadasi) is the Shukla Ekadashi of the Tamil month Karthigai, a great day in Sri Vaishnava temples. In 2026 it falls on the same tithi as Prabodhini Ekadashi: Ekadashi runs from 7:15 AM IST on Friday 20 November to 6:31 AM IST on Saturday 21 November (Drik Panchang). Drik lists the Smarta Ekadashi on Friday 20 November and the Vaishnava Ekadashi on Saturday 21 November, and TTD holds the Kaisika Dwadasi Asthanam at Tirumala on Saturday 21 November. Thirukkurungudi and Srirangam fix their own day, so check the temple's announcement.

The day is named after the Kaisika raga, in which the devotee Nampaduvan sang to the Lord at Thirukkurungudi. His story, the Kaisika Puranam, is read in Vishnu temples that night and is enacted as a temple play, the Kaisika Natakam, at Thirukkurungudi. This guide covers the 2026 date, the story, the Thirukkurungudi play, the Srirangam and Tirumala customs and a simple way to keep the day at home. It belongs with our Karthika Masam 2026 guide and the Karthigai month 2026 festival list.

Editor's note on sources: Tithi times are from Drik Panchang day pages (IST; a tithi ends at the same instant everywhere in India). The Tamil month dates are from our Karthigai 2026 guide and the Tirumala date from TTD's November 2026 list. The story and the temple customs are from an article by Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan in The South First (4 December 2022), the Sri Vaishnava site acharya.org, the Tamil blog Sampath Speak (December 2025) and the SriRangaSri list archive. No temple had published a 2026 programme in any source we could read, so no event time is given here.

Kaisika Ekadashi 2026: date and tithi

• Ekadashi tithi: 7:15 AM IST, Friday 20 November to 6:31 AM IST, Saturday 21 November 2026 (Drik Panchang).
• Smarta Ekadashi (Devutthana / Prabodhini): Friday 20 November, per Drik. See Karthika Ekadashi (Prabodhini) 2026.
• Vaishnava Ekadashi: Saturday 21 November, per Drik, which also lists Gauna Devutthana Ekadashi, Tulasi Vivah and Yogeshwara Dwadashi that day.
• Kaisika Dwadasi Asthanam, Tirumala: Saturday 21 November (TTD list, 26 October 2026). See the Tirumala calendar for November 2026.
• Tamil month: Karthigai runs from Tuesday 17 November to Tuesday 15 December 2026 in Tamil Nadu, so this is the only Shukla Ekadashi in Karthigai this year.
• Thirukkurungudi and Srirangam: the temples follow their own Sri Vaishnava panchangam. Confirm the night of the Kaisika Puranam and the play with the temple before you travel.

Why the date moves from year to year

Kaisika Ekadashi follows the Tamil solar month Karthigai, which begins when the sun enters Vrischika. Lunar months drift against solar months, so the Shukla Ekadashi of Karthigai can be either the Karthika Ekadashi of the Telugu and North Indian calendars or the next one. In 2025 Kaisika Ekadasi fell on 1 December and in 2022 on 4 December. In 2026 the lunar Karthika Ekadashi of 20 and 21 November falls inside Karthigai, so Kaisika Ekadashi, Prabodhini Ekadashi and the eve of Ksheerabdi Dwadashi share the same days.

In the USA, UK and Canada

A tithi changes at the same moment worldwide; only the clock differs. Converted from Drik's IST times, Ekadashi runs from 8:45 PM EST on Thursday 19 November to 8:01 PM EST on Friday 20 November in New York and Toronto, and from 1:45 AM GMT on Friday 20 November to 1:01 AM GMT on Saturday 21 November in London. In these cities Friday 20 November is the only day with Ekadashi at sunrise. Sri Vaishnava temples abroad usually announce their own Kaisika Ekadasi date, so follow your temple.

What is Kaisika Ekadashi?

Kaisika is the name of a raga (in Tamil, a pann). The Tamil blog Sampath Speak notes that the old Kaisika pann corresponds to the raga now called Bhairavi. The Ekadashi takes its name from the song Nampaduvan sang in that raga. The Sri Vaishnava site acharya.org notes that the spelling "Koushika", sometimes seen, is a mistake and that the day has nothing to do with the sage Vishwamitra (Kaushika).

The observance is the ordinary Ekadashi fast and night vigil, with one addition: the Kaisika Puranam is read in Vishnu temples. Tradition counts the vigil and the reading as the heart of the day, because the story itself is about a man who kept the Ekadashi vigil by singing.

The story of Nampaduvan (the Kaisika Puranam)

The episode comes from the Varaha Purana. After the Lord as Varaha lifted the earth from the waters, Bhumi Devi asked him how suffering beings could be saved. He answered that singing his glory is the highest means, and told her this story, set at Thirukkurungudi near Tirunelveli.

1. Nampaduvan was born in a community then treated as low. He kept Ekadashi strictly and sang to the Lord with his veena, standing outside the temple.
2. One Karthika night, on his way to sing, he was seized by a hungry brahmarakshasa who wanted to eat him.
3. Nampaduvan asked to be allowed to finish his offering of song first and promised to return. To be believed he swore a series of oaths (acharya.org counts eighteen). The rakshasa let him go.
4. After singing, he set out to return. A stranger tried to talk him out of it; the tradition says this was the Lord himself. Nampaduvan refused to break his word and went back.
5. Moved by his truthfulness, the rakshasa no longer wanted his body but asked for the merit of his singing. He told Nampaduvan his past: he had been a brahmin, named Somasarma in the acharya.org retelling, who had erred while performing a sacrifice and been cursed.
6. Nampaduvan gave him the merit of the one song he had sung that morning in the Kaisika raga. The rakshasa was freed, and the story says he was later born in a devout family and reached Vaikuntha.

The lesson the retellings draw is the same: devotion, truthfulness and the singing of the Lord's name count, whatever a person's birth. Retellings differ on small points, for example whether the meeting was on the Ekadashi night or at the Dwadashi dawn, and the exact form of the curse. Follow the version your temple reads.

Thirukkurungudi and the Kaisika Natakam

Thirukkurungudi is a temple town at the foot of the Western Ghats (the Mahendragiri hills) in southern Tamil Nadu, about an hour by road from Tirunelveli or Kanniyakumari. Its Azhagiya Nambi Rayar temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams, praised by Periyazhwar, Thirumazhisai Azhwar, Nammazhwar and Thirumangai Azhwar.

• The play: every year the Kaisika Puranam is staged as a temple play on the night of Kaisika Ekadasi, running from late night into the early morning.
• Who performs: all roles except the brahmarakshasa are played by women. The actors playing Nampaduvan and the rakshasa fast all day before the performance.
• History: the oldest surviving manuscript of the play, by Veerabadhra Nattuvanar, dates from around the 17th century. The play declined after its chief patron, T. V. Sundaram Iyengar, died in 1955.
• Revival: the dancer Dr Anita Ratnam, a descendant of the patron, saw it in 1996 and revived it in 1999 with the theatre scholar Prof. Ramanujam and Na. Muthuswamy of Koothu-p-pattarai. It has continued under her Arangam Trust.
• Pilgrims: on festival day houses in the village open their doors to pilgrims, who rest during the day and watch the play at night.

Visiting in 2026: we could not find a published 2026 schedule. The play is held on the night the temple fixes as Kaisika Ekadasi, so check the temple office or the organisers' announcement before travelling, and expect a late night.

Srirangam and Tirumala

Srirangam: Parasara Bhattar, the 12th-century Sri Vaishnava teacher, wrote a commentary on the Kaisika Puranam and, by tradition, recited it before Lord Ranganatha one Kaisika Ekadasi. The custom continues: his direct descendants chant the Kaisika Puranam to Ranganatha on Kaisika Ekadasi. For the bigger Margazhi festival at Srirangam, see Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2026.

Tirumala: TTD keeps the next day as Kaisika Dwadasi. Its November 2026 list places the Kaisika Dwadasi Asthanam on Saturday 21 November. Traditionally Ugra Srinivasa Murthy is taken round the four Mada streets before sunrise, a rare day on which this form leaves the sanctum, and the Asthanam follows inside the temple. Details are in our Tirumala calendar for November 2026.

How to keep Kaisika Ekadashi at home

1. Fix your day: ask your family priest or temple whether you keep Ekadashi on Friday 20 or Saturday 21 November. Sri Vaishnava families usually follow their acharya's panchangam.
2. Fast as your health allows: a full fast, fruit and milk, or one simple meal without grains. Children, older people, pregnant women and anyone with diabetes or on regular medicine should keep it light and take medical advice.
3. Sing or listen at night: the day honours a man who kept the vigil by singing. Spend part of the night on the Lord's names, the Divya Prabandham or bhajans your family knows. One hour of real attention is better than a sleepless night spent on a phone.
4. Read the story: read the Kaisika Puranam, or tell the story of Nampaduvan above to the family, especially the children.
5. Visit a Perumal temple: many temples read the Kaisika Puranam that night. In Karthika you can also light a lamp before the tulasi; see our daily Tulasi puja for Karthika Masam.
6. Break the fast on Dwadashi: at the time your panchangam gives. Many Telugu families go straight into the Ksheerabdi Dwadashi Tulasi puja that day.

A small practice that fits the story: keep one promise you have been putting off, and finish it before Dwadashi.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Kaisika Ekadashi in 2026?

Kaisika Ekadashi is the Shukla Ekadashi of the Tamil month Karthigai. In 2026 the Ekadashi tithi runs from 7:15 AM IST on Friday 20 November to 6:31 AM IST on Saturday 21 November (Drik Panchang). Drik lists the Smarta Ekadashi on Friday 20 November and the Vaishnava Ekadashi on Saturday 21 November. Sri Vaishnava temples such as Thirukkurungudi and Srirangam fix the day by their own panchangam, so check the temple's announcement.

Is Kaisika Ekadashi the same as Prabodhini or Dev Uthani Ekadashi?

In 2026 they fall on the same tithi, because the Shukla Ekadashi of the lunar month Karthika also falls inside the Tamil solar month Karthigai. That does not happen every year. In 2025 Kaisika Ekadasi was on 1 December and in 2022 on 4 December, weeks after Prabodhini Ekadashi, because the Tamil month is counted by the sun.

What is the story of Kaisika Ekadashi?

It is the story of Nampaduvan, a devotee from a community then treated as low, who sang to the Lord at Thirukkurungudi. On his way to the temple during his Ekadashi vigil he was caught by a brahmarakshasa, promised to come back after singing, and kept his word. The rakshasa, a brahmin in his past life, was freed when Nampaduvan gave him the merit of a song sung in the Kaisika raga. The episode is told in the Varaha Purana and is called the Kaisika Puranam.

What is the Kaisika Natakam at Thirukkurungudi?

It is a temple play of the Kaisika Puranam staged on the night of Kaisika Ekadasi at the Azhagiya Nambi Rayar temple in Thirukkurungudi, running late into the night. Women perform every role except the brahmarakshasa. The tradition faded after 1955 and was revived in 1999 by the dancer Anita Ratnam with the theatre scholar Prof. Ramanujam and Na. Muthuswamy.

What is Kaisika Dwadasi at Tirumala in 2026?

TTD's November 2026 list places the Kaisika Dwadasi Asthanam on Saturday 21 November 2026. Traditionally Ugra Srinivasa Murthy is taken round the Mada streets before sunrise that morning, followed by the Asthanam in the temple.

How can I observe Kaisika Ekadashi at home?

Keep the Ekadashi fast as your health allows, spend part of the night singing or listening to the Lord's names, read or listen to the Kaisika Puranam story, and visit a Perumal temple if one is near. Break the fast on Dwadashi at the time your family panchangam gives. People who are unwell, pregnant, elderly or on regular medication should not fast without medical advice.

More Karthika Masam 2026 guides

• Karthika Masam 2026: dates, rituals and festivals
• Karthika Masam 2026 calendar, day by day
• Karthika Ekadashi (Prabodhini) 2026
• Ksheerabdi Dwadashi and Tulasi Vivah 2026
• Karthigai month 2026: Tamil festival dates
• November 2026 vrat and fasting days
• Karthika Pournami 2026

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• Nagula Chavithi 2026
• Why 365 Wicks on Karthika Pournami? The Meaning, the Scriptures and When to Light It in 2026
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